I must admit to my ambivalence upon leaving Korea; it's been delightful seeing friends and eating dinners out and rejoicing in my last few days here. On my run today, I thought how much would I miss running my familiar route along the sea with the backdrop of mountains. No matter how many times I have run the very same route, at one point in my run, rounding a curve, I am always in awe at the backdrop of mountains towering over the seascape. I think I will miss this aspect most of all: mountains and ocean combined for my enjoyment during biking and running. There is so much I did while I was here, and yet, so much I was unable to do. Sigh. I will definitely miss my kids. I loved having 90 children to teach, to laugh with, to encourage, to comfort; I truly enjoyed them. It was nice to go home at the end of the day and have no children though! Teaching is great: part-time Mothering. Love it! I will miss Korean food for sure! So healthy, so much variety. The only drawback is that I wish I could have eaten
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Today's lunch at home: Bap (rice) sits atop fresh red leaf lettuce from Momi's organic garden A red sweet and slightly tangy/spicy sauce I decided to try from the market, absolutely no idea what it is called On top of the unique licorice-like sesame seed leaf, is my favorite: melchi, a miniscule seasoned fish OkHee always made that I LOVE! salty and sweet!. Next to the melchi is marinated squid (if I remember correctly) I purchased at the street market yesterday. Also tangy, sweet, with a slight spicy heat. The sauce in the bowl, and the sauce used on the melchi and squid are similar but not the same: made with red pepper, sugar, salt, and other yummy stuff. Then a big gob of kimchi, holy sh** is it hot! Sinuses are clear! Also acquired at street market. Not cheap! The kimchi, squid, and noodle soup cost $15 together! I'm lucky, blessed, good-karma-ed, etc., etc., to have such a wonderful school Director! We seem to have so much in common! She truly likes me, and I, her! She compliments me on my lessons and teaching, and how I manage the students. And she is constantly surprised and happy at how much I love Korean food. I think on both sides, school directors are wary, and prospective teachers are wary, of what is to come when two differing cultures meet in the middle of a job situation. More on that later!
We had the best day! Jeong and her husband, Mr. Bak, took me to the highest point in Tongyeong, and hiking, and then dinner! We rode the cable cars across the valley to the highest point where the view was amazing! I live in the Korean Caribbean! Now, I call that lucky!!! How many people get to live in a Caribbean setting twice!!! Wheeeee! 360 views of all the islands surrounded us, and then we hiked the long way down toward on of the nearby Buddhist temples. Unfortunately, by then, it was so late that it was pitch black dark and we were using the flashlight on our phones to navigate the narrow, rocky paths! We will return to see the temple during the daytime. We were hiking upward and then descending for at several hours; first up and then down-- I can feel it in my knees! We returned to our neighborhood for dinner later, and ate BBQ-ed pork that we cooked on the table. Here I experienced my first taste of seaweed leaf- - very difficult to describe. It's a beautiful green leaf, shaped like a heart and about the size of your hand (well, my small hand!). The flavor is sweet; perhaps the closest taste that comes to mind is licorice, and yet it is not licorice. I just wanted to stuff a bunch of them in my mouth over and over again; this is how delicious and unique the flavor was! ... And yes, for those of you that were paying attention, I said pork. Guess I'm at the end of my vegetarian days, after 7 years. There's just no way I'm going to try to be a veggie here, and I'm okay with that. I will still try to concentrate my meals with non-animal items, and with lots of fish, but eating the occasional meat dish is unavoidable. For instance, today for lunch, I was out on my own, and after passing 6 restaurants, I finally just dove into one. Luckily, most of them have picture menus. I asked for lunch, she said "What do you want?" ...(of course I'm heavily translating this because she was speaking Korean and I was attempting Korean but relying more on sign language!)... I shrugged and said you tell me. She made her recommendation, which looked like a bowl of soup with veggies. It was delicious, but it had two huge bones of some animal with very delicate meat attached, and I relished every bite! Picture coming soon! Tongyeong is spread over at least 3 different islands that are actually connected by small strips of land/fingers or bridges. I live in "new Tongyeong" (TY, from now on), and the original city is across one of these fingers, only about 4 km away (a bit over one mile). What's amazing about NEW TY, is that a decade ago, it was under water! They "reclaimed" the area, filled it in, and built it up! The area I live in, new TY, could be considered a suburb. It's all new building, modern, with many shopping areas. Again, think in terms of 1 square mile. My school is ~1000 ft. from my house: 2 blocks (if bing.com is accurate). It's a 5 minute walk, if I saunter... It is a 10 minute walk to the huge shopping center of EMart. (A side note: Emart is similar to WalMart, except they don't' carry items made in china, and it's not all cheap crap. It's not inexpensive, and the items are of high quality or good quality. One thing I've noticed in Korea, they do not make "cheap" goods. Inexpensive, yes, but not the cheap stuff Americans have an affinity for,i.e, all the junk you can get at Walmart.) Korea is small compared to the U.S., and it is densely packed with people. And yet, all the mountains have been designated as "national parks" so those areas are not built up. And of course the "countryside" has a smaller population density. What is amazing is the speed with which they were able to build an entire second city of TY! And it's not the cheap, quick fabrication you find in the States. For instance, my apartment, although it must have been constructed rather quickly, ti has not been built cheaply and shabbily! I'm on the third floor, there is a busy street below, and I have many neighbors. And yet, I never hear them! I'm in a large complex and never hear anyone coming or going, water running, talking, music...nothing! The cabinets, doors, frames, everything are made in a quality manner. It's such a change from the quick, sub-par construction builders put together these days in the States! Anyway, Old TY has a lot of character of what I consider (from my foreign perspective) "authentic" Korean: traditional buildings, it's a fishing village, outdoor fish/veg markets, etc. My new TY is, like I said, a new suburb with a very modern feel. And the wonderful thing is, it's only one mile away! I will be there frequently when I get a bike and learn the bus system! Director and I had to go to Immigration, so I get to see Old TY, walk through the market, buy a tasty snack of squid, and have lunch! More to come.... ciao for now! |
iGallivant...is in Korea loving Korean food and culture! Archives
November 2015
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